faith

I am thankful the end of the work week has arrived. As you may recall I am a nurse working with breast cancer patients. It is a wonderfully rewarding experience that allows me to bring hope and healing into the hearts and lives of so many bright stars. At times however it can be very hard. While we have made tremendous progress in the treatment of breast cancer in the last 2 decades it does not always have a happy ending.

This week I was blessed to get to know a few women that have a more advanced stage of the disease. These gals are truly remarkable. Their strength second to no soldiers! I however have been overwhelmed with the unfairness of it all. Why God does someone who has faithfully had annual screenings get the news that their cancer isn’t a simple small tumor, after all it was only 12 short months ago the image was taken. Why? Why?

Where does her strength come from to endure the endless tests and the anxiety of waiting in between to hear if the nasty disease is claiming more of her body?

Why does the young woman with 2 young children with no insurance and no ability to get any have to learn that her cancer is now in her bones? Where am I to find the money to help her get a wig for when her hair falls out with her chemo?

No of this makes sense to me!

It does however make me draw closer to my God. I need your presence, wisdom and strength so that I can give these beautiful woman the love you have for them.

As I sit in your presence I hear you whisper to me. I get up to grab the bible off the shelf and am drawn to 2Cor 12:9.

“My graceissufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

I am quite familiar with the first part of the verse: my grace is sufficient. What however grabs my attention is the later part…your power rests upon me and is made perfect in my weakness. This is only possible when I come to the end of myself. It is at the end of myself that you can take over, your power flows through. Oh, let it be! Not for me but for them.

There is something deeper…I sense a new beginning coming to the surface…

With Love and Admiration for all these brave woman in the battle for their lives.

It’s already the middle of January which means that we are halfway through the first month of the new year. Time for a quick evaluation…am on I track? have I followed through on the commitments I made to myself as I approached the new year?

In my post A Fresh Start I mentioned a writing challenge I would be participating in daily for 14 days. I have not posted on each of these days mainly because I did not find every days prompt worthy of a note, so I exercised writers discretion. Ooh, I exercised! didn’t even realize or break a sweat sweat!

I did follow through with my daily prayer and meditation commitment. This proved difficult at times as I had some very early work days which required me to get up at 4:30am to keep the commitment. It was a personal fast for me, fasting from sleep, something that I truly love! Real sacrifice.

As those two weeks progressed I felt that I received some pretty powerful insight. What I can share at this time is the season I have entered is not for the fainthearted. I will be challenged at a new level. It is likely to be a time of deep, hard work. I sense there will be RISK involved if I am to move through the process. In other words…I am about to be stretched at a new level…this can only mean that I will see and experience new things and adventures…climbing higher in trust and faith…soaring on the wings of eagles.

Because I feel it is in keeping with my search for my authentic self and the enjoyment of simple abundance I will be joining the Simple Women’s Daybook blog. You can discover and explore this blog for yourself by following http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com. I hope that you will consider joining us.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window…the sky is blue with some fluffy white clouds. The air is cooler than it has been, fall is moving into New England.

I am thinking…my dog is so cute as she wrestles with her blanket on the living room floor. Oh the simple things…

I am thankful…oh so many things. Good friends, good books and good beer to start.

In the kitchen…that cake I baked smells very yummy

I am wearing…jeans and a long sleeve tee.

I am creating…the person I want to be!

I am going…to spend the weekend enjoying whatever life brings my way.

I am wondering…what my college aged son is up to this weekend.

I am reading…the Light and the Glory by Peter Marshall and David Manuel.

I am hearing…David Sanborn on the CD player

Around the house…things are orderly and clean, ahh!

I am pondering…how to maintain childlike faith

One of my favorite things…a good meal in great surroundings with my favorite people.

A few plans for the rest of the week: an afternoon with our granddaughter, maybe a massage, fundraising event- Pink Flamingo’s

But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God’s Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:7-8 NCV)

It happens when people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer.

Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there is pretending, role-playing, politicking and superficial politeness, but shallow conversation.

People wear masks, keep their guards up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. These attitudes are the death of real friendship.

It’s only as we become open about our lives that we experience authentic fellowship. The Bible says, “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other.… If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves” (1 John 1:7–8, NCV).

The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. We tend to use darkness to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are.

Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection and being hurt again.

Why would anyone take such a risk?

Because it’s the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. The Bible says, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” ( James 5:16a, Msg).

Tonight we attended funeral services for a beautiful 20 year old friend of my middle daughter, Jess. She was a vibrant, compassionate, energetic young woman who had her life stolen when she began to use drugs. It was painful to stand with so many young people who mourned the loss of this beauty.

I pray for peace for the family.

This is a photo from senior prom in 2009. Janine is the first in line. You will be missed.

As I left the house this morning for my hour long commute the weather was warm and it was foggy. On mornings such as this the fog may be thick near the river and in the valleys and absent in the flat dry areas. As I drove one of those flatter areas I noticed the still full moon in the brightening morning sky. I have a real fondness for a full moon. When I have traveled alone and the moon has been full I know that I can look up and see the same moon that my husband/best friend views thousands of miles away:)

Alone in the city staring at the moon I knew my love was looking at the same moon back at home.

This morning I had a really special treat. As I rounded a corner and the fog cleared the moon was shining through my windshield. As I looked out my rearview mirror the sun was dawning and the sky was beginning to sparkle brillance and color.

Some of my favorite photo’s are of the moon and the sunrise.

Somewhere over the Carribean

I have a friend who once said that she hopes that when she gets to heaven she has the job of coloring the sky. Wouldn’t that be AWESOME!

As the world remembers and grieves the tragic events of a decade ago I wanted to compete with the images our brain absorbs. This Guatemalan child was not born in 2001. Her future holds promise and uncertainty in a country that struggles with drug traffic and poverty. Yet here she is on her knees before the Throne of the Almighty God, Creator of all, our Comforter and refuge.

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My blogs purpose is to journal the unearthing of the authentic person I am created to be. You see along life's journey we get taken off course, confused, cluttered with other's ideas of who we should be. I believe we owe it to ourselves to peel those layers off and emerge from under the heap as beautiful beings. So my intention is to write about my passions and joys as I travel along lifes road. Thanks for joining me.